


a gift for shepard

by snickerdoobles



Series: Astrid Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, garrus has no clue what this dang human holiday is about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 15:17:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13684308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snickerdoobles/pseuds/snickerdoobles
Summary: While accompanying Shepard on a shopping trip on the Citadel, Garrus discovers the weird little human holiday called 'Valentines' and decides he needs to get something for Shepard. Set during ME2, just before the Reaper IFF mission.





	a gift for shepard

It might have been Shepard’s imagination, but the biometric scans on the SR-2 took even longer than the ones on the original Normandy.

 

Garrus blinked owlishly in the harsh white light of the biometric scan, shuffling his talons against the deck of the Normandy’s airlock. ‘Remind me again why we’re back at the Citadel? And not out fighting the Collectors?’

 

Shepard shrugged, rolling her neck and grimacing as it popped. ‘Gardner wants some decent rations. I’ve been dragging my feet on picking them up, figured I might as well get ‘em now. And I figure the crew needs a decent shore leave before we all die in a blaze of glory.’

 

‘Or a swarm of bugs.’

 

‘Or a swarm of bugs,’ she laughed, striding forward as the airlock’s hatch lock glowed green.

 

‘These rations must be a high priority if we’re getting them instead of that Reaper IFF,’ Garrus drawled, his mandible clicking audibly against his jaw. She couldn’t remember if it had done that before Omega, but it happened all the time now. Maybe her Cerberus implants just let her hear better these days.

 

‘So you’re telling me you’d rather be crawling through a dead Reaper than picking up groceries.’ Shepard nodded amicably at Bailey as they passed his desk, receiving a wave in return.

 

‘Well, when you put it that way.’ There was a slight rustle to her left as Thane brushed past them, vanishing into the crowd quicker than she thought possible for someone bright green and six feet tall. ‘Where’s Krios off to?’

 

‘Visiting his son.’ Shepard spun in a small, tight circle, squinting at the directional signs. ‘Which way to the markets? I can never remember. You know how awful I am with directions.’

 

‘I do remember wandering around in the sewers on Feros for ages. Still can’t believe you punched that varren to death instead of using your _perfectly serviceable_ biotics.’ Garrus halted her spin with one gentle talon on her shoulder, pointing her to the markets with the other. ‘Levo markets are that way, to the left. You could probably get some decent stuff at the cafe near the C-Sec outpost, but there are more grocery-type places down on level 24.’

 

‘I’d be lost without you. You wanna come? Or do you have other stuff to take care of while we’re here?’ He’d told her that human expressions were still a bit tricky for him to understand, but surely he could tell that biting her lower lip meant she was hopeful he’d come. ‘I mean, this might be our last shore leave. Like, last _ever_.’

 

‘Well, _someone_ has to make sure you don’t get lost down there,’ he replied, and Shepard tried not to grin too much like a fool as they headed towards the markets.

  


________________________________________

  
  


The levo markets were, as always, a complete and total cacophony of sounds, smells, and sights. But today was something else. This particular area had been part of Garrus’ beat, way back when, and he’d never seen quite so many people swirling around in the confined space beneath Silversun. He definitely didn’t remember there being quite so many pink decorations everywhere. And there was a heavy, almost cloyingly sweet floral scent dominating the others floating in the air.

 

A human scuttled past Garrus, a bundle of flowers clutched in their arms, and the scent doubled in intensity. He wanted to ask them what the flowers were, and why there were strange decorations everywhere, but they seemed to be in a hurry, so he instead turned and headed back into the shop towards Shepard.

 

Garrus wedged his bulk past a salarian browsing through a shelf of oils (oils? They had entire shelves devoted to _oils_? Levo eaters were so weird) and tapped on Shepard’s shoulder. ‘Lot of people out today,’ he said, trying to keep his tone more conversational and less paranoid.

 

‘Yeah, probably getting their shopping for Valentine’s done,’ Shepard replied, her tone distant and distracted as she frowned at the price tags displayed under some spices. ‘Bit last-minute, but there’s always a lot of people who completely forget about it. I had an ex who gave me Valentine’s shit two days after the fact. So spacey, but that’s kinda why I dated her. She forgot stuff all the time, it was adorable.’

 

Oh, shit. Valentino sounded like human couple’s stuff. Oh, shit, should he have gotten her something? Oh, _shit_ , he had no idea if they were serious enough for this Valentino thing. They hadn’t even gone on a date yet, just flirted and committed to a tie-breaker. Was Valentino a casual thing? Did she expect something from him? What was--

 

‘Hey, you doing ok?’ He blinked, focusing on Shepard, who was watching him with concern etched on her face. ‘Flashback?’

 

He hummed a no through his subvocals, only just remembering to shake his head like humans did. ‘Nah, just...thinking. So, what is Valentino?’

 

‘ _Valentine’s_ ,’ Shepard corrected. ‘Human holiday. I hear this is the first year they’re really celebrating it on the Citadel. It used to be a _lot_ more chill hundreds of years ago, but card companies threw it into overdrive to sell more stuff. You celebrate it by giving romantic crap to your partners. Chocolates, flowers, cards, huge-ass teddy bears. Sometimes people go on dates.’

 

Shit. Valentine’s was _definitely_ human couple’s stuff. He had to get Shepard something. He couldn’t get her chocolates, he had no idea which levo things tasted good. Flowers didn’t strike him as a thing Shepard would like, and he definitely didn’t want to accidentally send her into anaphylactic shock. Cards were too impersonal. He had absolutely no clue what a teddy bear was, but at this point, it sounded like his best bet.

 

‘Do you think Gardner meant ‘cilantro’ when he wrote ‘seelantro’?’ Shepard’s voice cut through his panicked planning. ‘How did that man end up as a cook? There’s gotta be a story there.’

 

‘I--uh, Shepard, I remembered something I gotta take care of.’ Her face fell, and he tried not to choke on his subvocals. He’d meant to spend the whole day with her, and judging by her crestfallen expression, she had too. But it he was going to get a Valentine’s gift for her before the shore leave was over, he had to leave _now_. ‘Sorry, I uh--gotta go.’

 

‘Okay, Garrus, see you around.’ She turned back to the spices, peering at the list, and he hurried from the store, pulling up a list of human-centric gift shops on his omni-tool as he left.

  


________________________________________

  


‘Logged. CO Shepard is aboard. XO Lawson stands relieved.’

 

‘Hey, EDI.’ Shepard shifted the bulging grocery bags to the deck, trying to relieve the biting pressure of the plastic loops on her fingers. ‘Can you ping Gardner and let him know I’ve got his ridiculously expensive groceries?’

 

‘Done,’ EDI replied, her holographic interface springing to life in a corner of the airlock. ‘Most of the crew has returned from shore leave, with the exception of Sere Krios and Crewman Hawthorne.’

 

‘They still have time.’ Shepard tried not to tap her foot impatiently as the biometric scan completed. ‘I trust that Jack and Miranda didn’t rip the ship apart in my absence?’

 

‘Operative Lawson and Miss Nought seem to have avoided each other since their earlier confrontation. Additionally, Officer Vakarian asked to be notified when you came aboard. Shall I ping him?’

 

Weird, but okay. It wasn’t like she was trying to avoid him. Maybe he just wanted to touch base after he skipped out on her today. ‘Uh, sure.’ The airlock finally cycled, and Shepard hoisted the groceries anew. ‘Thanks, EDI.’

 

‘Logging you out.’

 

‘Hey, Shepard!’ Joker called out as Shepard passed by the cockpit. ‘Get anything special for your Valentine? Maybe a nice bow for the stick up his ass? Or a matching visor for the other eye?’ His eyebrows waggled under his ever-present cap, a stupid smirk spreading across his face. ‘Oh, shit, I know. You got him a nice calculator for his ‘calibrations’.’

 

‘I don’t recall ever telling you about my personal life.’ She had, in fact, picked up some dextro-safe chocolate and a bottle of dual-chirality wine that she hoped was a good vintage. ‘And a calculator would be a terrible Valentine’s gift. Even for Garrus.’

 

‘I _knew it!_ ’ crowed Joker, slapping his knee. ‘Ohhh, I _knew it_ . Tali owes me _so much_ money. Garrus? Really, Shepard? I mean, after you shot Alenko down, I thought maybe you were more into chicks, but then you turned Liara down too--’

 

‘Stop,’ groaned Shepard. ‘Just. Stop. How do you even know? We haven’t even gone on a _date_ yet. We’re not even a _thing_.’ At least she thought they weren’t a thing. From what Garrus had told her about turian relationships, they were blowing off steam, nothing more. But that still didn’t mean she wanted the entire ship to know about it. ‘Did EDI tell you? I thought we were in privacy mode.’

 

‘The ship cancer’s got nothing to do with it,’ Joker said primly, lacing his fingers together in his lap. ‘I have my sources.’

 

‘If we survive this mission, I’m finding your ‘sources’ and killing you both,’ Shepard ground out, frustrated that her hands were full of bags and unable to flip the smug pilot off. ‘Slowly.’

 

‘Aw, you love me.’ Joker spun his seat back around. ‘Better get those groceries down to Gardner before they spoil.’

 

‘Fuck you, Joker.’

 

‘See ya, Commander.’

 

Shepard tried not to stomp too much as she passed through the ship, but even Chambers noticed her foul mood and didn’t say anything as she stormed past. After she dropped off the groceries with Gardner, she grabbed her bag of gifts to Garrus and trotted up to the main battery. She glanced around furtively, hoping nobody saw her clutching presents outside his door. If Joker and Tali knew about their budding relationship, it was only a matter of time before the whole ship would be gossiping about it. Satisfied that nobody was watching, she tapped the hatch’s lock--

 

\--and frowned when she received an angry buzz instead of an open door. Garrus never locked the hatch to the main battery when he was inside. ‘EDI, where is Garrus?’

 

‘In the loft, Commander.’

 

‘In the--’ Oh. That was right. She’d invited him to visit whenever he pleased. ‘Right. Ok. Can you ping him and let him know I’m on the way up?’

 

‘Certainly. Shall I set mood music?’

 

Shepard’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What? No. Fuck no. Maybe? No. Let me do it when I get up there. And not a word of this to anybody. At all.’

 

The path to the elevator was, fortunately enough, clear of bystanders as she hurried through. Once on the elevator though, she was stricken with sudden and overwhelming anxiety. What if Garrus didn’t like her gifts? What if she’d accidentally gotten awful-tasting sweets? What if he was just up there to hang out?

 

The elevator jerked to a halt much sooner than she expected, and she paced several circles outside her loft door. When she and Garrus had decided on the ‘tie-breaker’, she’d assumed he’d wanted something casual, to blow off steam. And she’d assumed she wanted the same thing. But now she was pacing around like a nervous teenager, almost on the edge of panic over whether or not he liked chocolate. And then she came to a sudden conclusion.

 

He meant more to her than a one-night stand.

 

She steeled herself, taking a deep breath. _Okay, Shepard. Go in there and talk to him. Get everyone on the same page. Make sure you’re both serious about this relationship._ Once she was ready (or as ready as she could be) she strode through the hatch.

 

‘Hey, Garrus, EDI said I could find you up here, I think we need to talk about our...relationship...oh my god, Vakarian, what is that?’

 

Garrus was standing off to the side of the tiny office space, his mandibles spread wide as he patted his talons awkwardly against his thighs. ‘Uh. I couldn’t find a...teddy bear? Is that what you called it? Yeah, couldn’t find one of those, but the human shopkeeper said you might like this.’

 

The ‘this’ in question was the largest stuffed animal Shepard had ever seen in her life. The massive form took up three-quarters of her bed, it’s fluffy body almost intimidating in size. It took her several seconds to recognize the shape. ‘Is that a _varren?_ ’ she asked, only just managing not to break out in laughter.

 

‘I--yeah, it is. I’m not sure what the shape in it’s mouth is, though. Or what the script on it says. My translator won’t recognize it, and when I asked Joker, he just laughed and said it was perfect.’

 

‘Yeah, translators are absolute shit when it comes to reading cursive.’ The heart clutched in the varren’s jaws was a bright pink, contrasting horribly with the neon green of the varren’s body and the huge orange glass eyes. ‘It says ‘Doggone it, Valentine, I really dig you!’’

 

‘Oh. That’s awful.’ His mandibles drooped. ‘I’m sorry, I wanted to surprise you with something nice. I didn’t even know if you wanted a gift for this Valentino thing, and I managed to find you something weird. And now half the ship probably knows. I had to haul that past Chambers, and you know how chatty she is.’

 

‘Yeah, it is pretty bad.’ She set the bag full of presents down on her desk, moving forward to haul it off the bed and over to her couch. ‘I fucking love it. I’m naming him Tuna. And it’s not so bad, the crew knowing.’

 

‘Yeah?’ Garrus moved to her, his talons twisting in nervous knots. ‘I mean, I figured you wanted to keep this on the down-low--’

 

‘I did,’ she said simply. ‘But that was back when I thought I just wanted to blow off steam. I...I think I want more, Garrus. I think I want us to be a thing.’ She took his talons in her hands. ‘Like. More than a one-night stand. If...if you’re okay with that, I mean.’

 

She thanked whichever Lazerus operative had seen fit to enhance her hearing. She could hear his delighted subvocals as he pressed his forehead against hers. ‘Yeah! Yeah, I...yeah. I think we can be more.’ He pulled away, his browplates scrunching together as he glanced towards Tuna. ‘You’re sure it’s not too dramatic? The stuffed varren?’

 

‘Oh, it’s _absolutely_ too dramatic,’ laughed Shepard. ‘That’s why I love him.’

**Author's Note:**

> how do you do endings?? I sure as heck don't know!! ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> thanks for reading!


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